My first Brisket was dry

[Andy]

all the way along the outside!!

Was pretty moist in the middle.  But I think I over cooked it...12 hours for a 6# brisket...but that is what it took to get it to 185.


I even had a pork butt above it dripping fat on it.

Any suggestions.

Pork but was awesome though...man that stuff is good.

[SMOKEHOUSE ROB]

andy did you trim off the fat?  you should leave a good 1/4 inch of fat on and put it fat side up. plus sounds like you didnt rotate your racks? i think you should of put the pork butt below the brisket to start, then 5 hours or so moved the butt to the top, what you had was the brisket sucking most of the heat. what was your smoker temp?

[smokin zo]

Try taking internal temp. only to 170 or lower. Meat will cintinue to cook for quite a while after taken out(ESPECIALLY IF WRAPPED IN FOIL,TOWEL,COOLER).

Enzo

[SMOKEHOUSE ROB]

smokin zo once you pull your meat temp will only go up 5 deg. brisket needs to go above 180. here is a cut and paste. Cook To 180-205°F Internal Temp
In the book How To Cook Meat, authors Chris Schlesinger and John Willoughby say that tough cuts of meat must be "cooked through doneness to tenderness." In other words, you don't stop cooking a brisket when it reaches the internal temperature we associate with tender cuts of beef like a Porterhouse steak or even a tri-tip roast. A brisket is not edible if cooked to 125°F, much less 175°F.

In order to be tender, a brisket must be cooked to an internal temperature of 180-205°F. The reason for this, according to McGee, is that the conversion of collagen to gelatin doesn't even begin until meat reaches an internal temperature of 140°F, and is most efficient as internal temps approach 212°F. "Low and slow" barbecuing at 225-250°F is ideal to faciliate this conversion, providing gentle heat over many hours, allowing the collagen to make its transition into gelatin. While some moisture will be driven out of the brisket as it reaches these high internal temps, the gelatin makes up for it and keeps the meat moist. Of course, the fat layer on the brisket also helps maintain moisture in the meat during cooking, as well.

When properly cooked, a brisket will be "fork tender", meaning that a fork goes in and out of the meat with little resistance. Most people believe that a properly cooked slice of brisket should pull apart easily, while still maintaining good texture. An overcooked slice will fall apart when picked up.

188°F and 190°F seem to be the most popular target temps. I cook brisket to a variety of internal temps, depending on the method I use to cook them. When I barbecue a brisket entirely in the WSM, like in Brisket - Midnight Cook, I cook to an internal temp of 185-190°F. In this temperature range, the flat will be fork-tender and the slices cut from the flat will hold together.

[Andy]

I rotated the racks...but the otehr way...brisket on the bottom first...then moved to the second shelve..and vise versa for the butt...probably the problem!!

Next time will go brisket on top first..then rotate to bottom.

Brisket did not have a lot of fat on it to begin with....Did trim some...that could have been the problem as well.

I considered about half way thru...putting another rack of bacon on top of the brisket...but decided against it.  Probably should do that as well.  Brisket did have awesome flavor....everyone raved about it...but it was dry.  WE sliced up the middle..which was semi moist...and it was great...then I put it all in the food processor for a course grind.  Am going to make BBQ and cheddar quasadila's with it.  that way the moisture will not mater...and I love pork butt quaso's...so brisket quaso's should be good also.  I will say...wally world's $1.26 per pound Pork butt's rule.

Will try to rotate shelves at the start...so butt is below brisket next time.  Did  a butt on the bottom shelf for 10 1/2 hours last week...and it never dried out... of course it has a lot more fat in it.

Butt came out great...as usual...I am just nailing the butt...three for three...and they are all great.  Pecan was the best...then hickory..then oak.  Will try a maple next!  Oak just does not ahve the flavor of the pecan. Pecan rules so far. Got maple, alder, mesquite and apple left...then I will reorder 120's of the best...so far..Pecan is the one.

[MallardWacker]

Andy,

This sounds bad , but I have never had a dried out brisket in the Bradley as of yet.  I think you did it correct, I'm not for sure what happend but do the FTC, yes it will continue to cook, the worse what will happen that it just more tender (or sometimes to tender), but it correct you need to get it to atleast 185 or that puppy will be tuffa-rooski.  However, if you cut the brisket at just let it lay out it will seem a bit dry.

Maybe try this, when you pull the brisket (now this is just a thought and I have never tried it) and double wrap the meat at a 1/4 of apple juice, even a small amount of good beef broth,~~~catch my drift here~~you could anything that might fit you fancy, then seal it up in the foil, wrap the towl and let it set in the cooler for a couple of hours.

HTH

SmokeOn,

mski
Perryville, Arkansas
Wooo-Pig-Soooie

If a man says he knows anything at all, he knows nothing what he aught to know.  But...

[Andy]

I FTC'ed it for almost an hour.

The thing tasted awesome...just dry. I did have it for almost 6 hours on the lowest shelf..taht is my thinking.

But it did have a pretty juicy butt right above it.

[SMOKEHOUSE ROB]

The lowest shelf, yep there it is. sucked up all the heat.

[BigSmoker]

I agree with Rob.  I would have used the top two shelves.  You can also inject the brisket with some apple juice and Dales sauce or similar.  Inject 10% solution per pound of meat.  Also make sure your brisket is a choice cut.  I also never trim off any of the fat before cooking.  You might also want to make sure your thermometer is calibrated.  IMO, FTC for almost 1 hour is a hour and however many minutes not long enough[:D].  HTH.

Jeff
www.bbqshopping.com
Some say BBQ is in your blood, if thats true my blood must be BBQ sauce.

[smokin zo]

10 degrees

Enzo

[MallardWacker]

Im with BigSmoker and others,

Top two slots for sure, I try and not use the bottom shelf unless I have to.  I save that space for things like potatoes[:p] and other dense things.  But if I do use it I DO ROTATE MY RACKS, around every 4-5 hrs...

SmokeOn,

mski
Perryville, Arkansas
Wooo-Pig-Soooie

If a man says he knows anything at all, he knows nothing what he aught to know.  But...